Xi'an Terracotta Warriors, Part 2

Mornin', peeps!  I'm back with more pages from Xi'an (see Part 1 here).

I put these pages together and stuck everything down, and then I was bothered by the fact that the page title ("The Hospital") is on the *only* picture on this layout that isn't of the soldiers in the hospital, which is what they call the area where they put the broken soldiers back together again.  So I had to get a couple new prints made because I'd trimmed one and then...

I managed to switch 'em out so a soldier in the hospital has the title, and all is right with the scrappy world now.

And there is the final layout of the four, and believe it or not I still had photos printed out that I didn't use (and I didn't print out anywhere close to all the pictures we took either).

The color palette again:  Night of Navy, Sahara Sand, Summer Starfruit (I've been surprised how often I use it in my scrapbooks), Bordering Blue, Riding Hood Red (though not really on these two layouts) and Whisper White.

Well, I've got lots to do today, so...cheers, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Rough Type
Ink:  Night of Navy
Paper:  Night of Navy, Sahara Sand, Bordering Blue, Whisper White, Sweet Sorbet DSP, Summer Starfruit DSP
Accessories:  Apothecary Accents Framelits

Friday Flashback: Fall Whimsy

Happy Friday, peeps, and welcome to this week's Friday Flashback!  I am SO ready for the cooler temperatures and pretty colors of fall, and today's stamp set goes right along with that theme:  Fall Whimsy.  This was one of the first stamp sets I ever bought!

Also features Something to Celebrate

This was a baby shower invite for a friend; she named her daughter Autumn and she looooves fall leaves so there you have it.

Also features Priceless, Nursery Necessities

 And here's a baby announcement for a different friend who had her daughter ON Halloween!

Also features Tiny Talk, Print Pattern

Let's talk turkey...isn't this cute?  The turkey uses most of the stamps in Fall Whimsy; he's not hard to put together, just time-consuming to cut out.

Also features Sincere Salutations

 Seems like we have a lot of friends and family with birthdays in October.

Also features Print Pattern, Linen, All Year Cheer III

Oh, I like this one, it's a technique called crayon resist, a.k.a. finally a use for the white crayon.  You need glossy white paper (or photo paper now, since SU! doesn't sell it anymore) and you stamp your leaves in black or whatever color you want, draw in some highlights with the crayon, and then sponge on color.  The crayon resists the ink and you have white highlights.  Pretty cool, right?

So that's the flashback, and here's the brand new card for today:

This one took me a while to wrap my brain around.  I love the sketch I used, and the color combo, but I was just having trouble making it all work together.  I think the purple was messing with my fall leaves idea a little bit.  I do like how it turned out in the end though and I continue to be in love with my Sanded background stamp.

There's the color combo from ColourQ; I added just a bit of Soft Suede.

And there's the sketch from Pals Paper Arts.  I really like this one.

Well, I have a long list of things to do today so I'd better go get started.  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Fall Whimsy, Sanded, Print Pattern, For All Things
Ink:  Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, Taken with Teal, Lovely Lilac, Soft Suede
Paper:  Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, Whisper White
Accessories:  just a pair of scissors :)

The Fox Says...

I know I'm like a year late to the party, but I just got this fox stamp.

My fox says HEY.  This idea just popped into my head yesterday and I had to make it.  I showed it to the hubs, and he says I should stamp yipyipyip etc. on the inside.  I'm not sure who would get it though...and without that, it's just a cute fox sayin' hey.

I started out with the color combination from Cupcake Inspirations:

Which I admit is a loose interpretation of the colors because we don't have good analogs to the lavender or jade in current SU! colors.  I love that jade color though.  Me wants it.

I also used this week's Mojo Monday sketch:

Though somehow when I copied the sketch down I lost the part where the image panel is towards the left.  Oops.  I don't stamp with a computer in the basement because a.) I like to unplug and b.) wifi down there sucks, so I usually copy down challenges and take the paper downstairs with me.  And sometimes I end up a little off from where I started.

This was the first fox card (Fox 1) but I thought he needed some black feets and a black nose, so I made the other one.  The speech bubble and "hey" stamp are from old Paper Pumpkin kits...I continue to not make the kits but I do use the stamps.  At least I use the stamps?

Ok foxes, I'm off to new adventures (most likely packing things up to ship off at the post office).  Have a great day, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Thankful Forest Friends, My Paper Pumpkin
Ink:  Pumpkin Pie, Cucumber Crush, Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black
Paper:  Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry & Cucumber Crush DSP
Accessories:  Circles Framelits, Dimensionals

Golden Birthday Wishes

Howdy, peeps!  How's your Wednesday going?

I had planned to make a card yesterday for today's blog post, but I didn't get to it because I was working on baby books.  Hoping to finish those up in the next week or two, but this morning the first item on my agenda was to make a card for today.  Luckily I had help from The Color Throwdown:

I used Basic Black, Whisper White, Lost Lagoon, and Watermelon Wonder for my colors, and put them together with the hot-off-the-presses Freshly Made Sketch 201:

A few gold touches and my card was done.  I kept it pretty simple.  And now I can go back to working on baby books...or maybe I should to Thursday's card first?  Hmm.

Have a great day, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Crazy About You, Petite Pairs
Ink:  Watermelon Wonder, Versamark
Paper:  Lost Lagoon, Watermelon Wonder, Basic Black, Whisper White, Kaleidoscope DSP (retired), Brushed Gold cardstock (retired)
Accessories:  Gold EP, scallop circle punch, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, gold brad, Dimensionals

Nachos: Blissful Leaves

Hey Nacho fans, guess what?  It's time for another fabulous Nacho Average Color Challenge!

It just so happens that I got my holiday mini preorder late last week, so I used some new stamp goodies to make this:

For the leaf, I spritzed some watercolor paper with water, then used an Aquapainter to paint on some ink.  I let it dry, and then stamped it and cut it out with the Big Shot.  I couldn't resist using some retired Moonlight paper for my card and I kept the layout super simple so the focus stays on the leaf and the neat Emily Bronte sentiment.

So that's it for me today, what have you got?  Share with us on the Nacho blog!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Lighthearted Leaves, Hardwood
Ink:  Blackberry Bliss, Bermuda Bay, Hello Honey, Crumb Cake
Paper:  Bermuda Bay, Blackberry Bliss, watercolor paper, Moonlight DSP stack (retired)
Accessories:  Leaflets Framelits, Dimensionals

Xi'an Terracotta Warriors, Part 1

Mornin', Mom!  It's time once again for some scrapbook pages, so let's go back to China.  And actually, today's pages are from what is maybe my very favorite place we visited in China:  Qin Shi Huang Di's tomb near Xi'an.

See the original pics here.  I printed out so many pictures that I actually made FOUR layouts with them, so I'm only sharing the first two today.  This was my first hack at the first page, but I ended up making one change to it...

I used Bordering Blue as an accent color on all the other layouts and I just had to add a bit to this first one.

And there's the second layout.  I used the same basic colors for all four...

Night of Navy for the page base, Sahara Sand (which is pretty much what color the terracotta warriors are), Summer Starfruit, Bordering Blue, Riding Hood Red, and Whisper White.  I was able to rustle up four different patterns of Summer Starfruit with white so each layout has a different pattern but in the same colors.  So stay tuned next week for the other half of the terracotta warrior pages.

Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, mostly SU!
Stamps:  Rough Type, Ancient Asia (you can just barely see a kanji on the label in the top left of the first layout)
Ink:  Night of Navy, Sahara Sand
Paper:  Night of Navy, Sahara Sand, Bordering Blue, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Birds of a Feather & High Tide DSP (both patterns in Summer Starfruit)
Accessories:  lettering template, Apothecary Accents Framelits

Friday Flashback: Banner Blast

Happy Friday, stampy pals!  Today's Friday Flashback stamp set is Banner Blast, which was one of last year's Sale-a-Bration offerings.  So let's get to it!

Also features Baby Prints and My Paper Pumpkin (tiny chevron)

Sweet baby feets!

Also features Bring on the Cake

Or how about a bright birthday banner?

Also features Petal Parade, Best of Sale-a-Bration

Or just a funky floral "hi".  This was one of those odder Splitcoast layouts...and that's it from the archives.  So let's see something new!

I tried to resist the butterflies, really I did, but I just couldn't.  (I almost used them yesterday too but went with Be the Star instead.)  I used the latest sketch from Create with Connie and Mary:

I adapted it to a landscape card instead of portrait and I cannot seem to type today so hopefully I caught all the typos before this goes up on the blog.  Anyway, I used all the same parts and pieces, but the butterfly was too wide to accommodate a portrait card.

I also used the colors from this week's Color Throwdown:

Hmm, maybe that inspiration pic is why I couldn't resist the butterflies today.  There's a thought.  Anyway, I interpreted these colors as Tangelo Twist, Basic Black, and Garden Green.

Hope you have a great weekend, peeps!  Mwah!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Banner Blast, Watercolor Wings
Ink:  Tangelo Twist, Garden Green
Paper:  Basic Black, Whisper White, Night & Day DSP, Basic Black & Garden Green DSP
Accessories:  Bold Butterflies & Ovals Framelits, Butterfly Thinlits, banner punch, rhinestone, Dimensionals

Stellar Day

Hey, peeps!  How's it going?  I've been kinda having a case of the blahs this week but I think today's card finally knocked me out of them.

Fun, right?  I like the bright colors and the super-simple sketch and I'm even okay with the white space.  I used this week's big celebration sketch at Freshly Made Sketches:

And the color challenge from Colour Me...!

And I'm talking to Missy right now on Skype so HI MISSY and that's the end of the blog post :)

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Be the Star, A Dozen Thoughts
Ink:  Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Basic Gray
Paper:  Daffodil Delight, Whisper White
Accessories:  Basic Gray taffeta

Chocoholic

Hey peeps!  Today I'm pulling out an older draft post of a set of cards I made my mom for Mother's Day.

Usually I'm like 99% Stampin' Up Only, but every once in a while....I find chocolate stamps.

And my mom taught me everything I need to know about being a chocoholic.

So I got her a set of these stamps too, along with the word die.

And I gave her two of each of the cards on this post.

Because that seemed like a perfect gift for my chocoholic mama from her chocoholic daughter.  And now I think I need to go get some chocolate...

Supplies:
Stamps:  Verve
Ink:  Coastal Cabana, Real Red, Whisper White
Paper:  Coastal Cabana, Real Red, Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Fresh Prints of Bel Air DSP Stack
Accessories:  word die from Verve, Apothecary Accents, Deco Labels, and Hearts Framelits, Brights & Neutrals Candy Dots

Nachos: Go For Gold

Happy Tuesday, Nacho fans!  Oy.  I did a kickboxing workout yesterday for the first time in a long time and today I can't hardly move.  Luckily I can still type to tell you about our latest Nacho sketch!

And here's my card:

It was really hard to get a good picture of this card; either the flower or the sentiment would reflect the flash and not look right.

But yup, there it is.  I love that "do more of what makes you happy" stamp.

So now it's your turn to do more of what makes you happy, and stamp something pretty for us.  Share your creation on the Nacho blog and then we'll all be happy :)

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Hello Life, Flower Patch
Ink:  Versamark, Watermelon Wonder
Paper:  Garden Green, Bermuda Bay, Watermelon Wonder, Whisper White
Accessories:  Gold EP, Flower Fair Framelits, Brights Candy Dots, gold baker's twine, Dimensionals

Friday Night Live

Well, it's scrappy Monday time again!  I really need to get on the ball making some new scrapbook pages; I'm running through all the ones I made before we left Alabama.  Well, I still have lots of baby book pages I haven't shared, but I like to share actual personal scrapbook pages (with pictures) on Mondays.  So anyway, here's what we have today....

These pics are from when we lived in Japan.  When my boss left for a new job, we had a really big hoopydoo party that was Saturday Night Live themed, so that's what these pictures are from.

I seriously love that patterned paper with the multicolored squares and I think this is the first time I've used it because I'm hoarding it.  Anyway, I embossed the accents with white EP because my Whisper White ink just wasn't showing up well enough on its own (you can see the polka dots on the Old Olive layer that are just the ink).

And there's my color palette:  Tempting Turquoise, Cool Caribbean, Old Olive, Basic Black, Regal Rose, and Pretty in Pink.  I like it :)

Hope you have a great day, peeps.  I'm off to make a to-do list so I can formulate a plan of attack!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Itty Bitty Backgrounds, Circle Circus
Ink:  Whisper White, Basic Black
Paper:  Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Regal Rose, Basic Black, Cool Caribbean, Georgia Peach DSP
Accessories:  1 3/8" circle punch, white EP

Friday Flashback: Express Yourself

Happy Friday, peeps!  This week's Friday Flashback stamp set is Express Yourself, a collection of sentiment stamps that was a hostess set in the 2013-14 catalog.  A lot of times I don't use hostess sets a whole lot, but I do love this one so let's go!

Also features Hello Lovely

Something CAS to start off with; I think that Eastern Elegance DSP was one of my all-time faves.

Also features Falling Leaves

This was for one of the crazier Splitcoast sketches; I haven't done one of their challenges in a long time actually.

Oops, I chose the pic that doesn't have the entire card front on it but you get the idea.  Made this for the hubs for our 10th anniversary a couple years ago.

Also features Hearts a Flutter

Another CAS creation...

Also features Best of Autumn

And here's another fall card.  I like that leaf, it's a pretty image.

Also features Serene Silhouettes

I loved how the color wash looks on the silhouette image panel, and then right when I was finishing up this card I got a smudge on it.  Oops.

Also features Lovely as a Tree

Are you seeing a trend with the sentiment stamp yet?  The other sentiments are perfectly good too but I seem to be drawn to that "always thinking of you one".  And for my next trick:

Yup, I used the same sentiment on today's new card.  I do love how this one turned out though, I used the color challenge from Colour Q:

Those colors just screamed FALL to me so I went with it (though I do have some flower stamps that look like the images on that phone case).  Fall is my favorite time of year; I'm looking forward to cooler temperatures, sweaters and scarves without being absolutely frozen solid, and of course fall baking.  Because Thanksgiving.  And I just love baking.  Washing the dishes afterwards, not so much :p

I based my card layout off of this older Sketch Frenzy Friday sketch, but the linky is closed for it.

That's it for me this week, have a great weekend.  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Express Yourself, Gently Falling, Sanded
Ink:  Early Espresso, Pumpkin Pie, Taken with Teal, Rich Razzleberry, Sahara Sand
Paper:  Early Espresso, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Autumn Meadows DSP
Accessories:  Wide oval punch, Dimensionals